These are my people this is my crowd..

Yo there, well as some of you know I attended Bloodstock Open air festival over the weekend, well what can I say? It was AMAZING I loved every second of it! Made it even special that I got to spend it with my gorgeous boyfriend <3 We arrived on Thursday in true metal fashion by Paul's mum taking us in the car, rock and roll right? like totally dude! So Me, Paul and Jade one of Paul's good friends arrived on the selected camp site 'Midgard' in the blazing sun around 1pm after the mammoth task of hauling the bags and the tents across the field, we camped in an okay spot among some of Jade's friends who turned out to be the best camp site drinking buddies ever..We got the tent up after about 15 minutes of struggling and got help from Chris another friend of Jade's by him lending us his mallet to bash the pegs in! So then we sat down and admired our work which can only be later described as a 'bit of a bodge up job' as the tent wasn't straight but hey it was up, it was secure so we then sat down for a well deserved beer whilst awaiting on Paul's friend Lou to arrive with her two young children. They soon arrived and I instantly felt a bond with these people. I know Lou means a lot to Paul and therefore I knew she'd be lovely as he is an amazing judge of character and wouldn't just be friends with anybody! So we helped them set up camp near us, sat down for a chat with them before entering the 'arena' Which consisted of ace market stalls selling any rock merchandise you could ever want, stages, fairground rides, drinking establishments,food stalls, an eco toilet known as 'pootopia' plus much much more. We bought chairs cos we realised we couldn't stand sitting on the floor all weekend plus got some free amusing hats! Thursday night was pretty much spent drinking in the bar and on the camp site..meeting random people in both. We also realised nearby campers were wannabe wrestlers and the males in that camp had all adapted Hulk Hogan style voices and we did wonder what their real voices sounded like, great bunch of guys though and a lot of fun! TBH it's weird been back home now and not hearing wrestler impressions going on into the early hours. So Friday Paul and I get up around 7 as we're too excited to sleep! We go for an early morning stroll into the arena to discover an amazing little cafe called 'Mr Teas' selling coffee, tea, cakes and alcoholic hot drinks too including Baileys hot chocolate which is to die for and definitely hit the spot on those hangover mornings let me tell you! Quaint little place that played new ages hippie music but all in all a great hang out spot for many festival goers alike with sore heads! We then went to pay Paul's friend Graham a visit and had a few early morning beers with him and everyone on his camp that seemed to consist of about 20 people, all sat in the sun blasting out heavy metal on a CD player powered by a car battery! Not sure how safe that was but hey it was cool..Some random ones in that camp too including a guy drinking out of a teapot but all in all amazing folk whom we kept on bumping into throughout the weekend! Friday was an epic day apart from it been WAY too hot I still have the sunburn to prove it, saw a few bands this day too including Grand Magus, Watain and Bememoth..The latter 2 are not my cup of tea as I don't really listen to Black metal as such but I did enjoy what they did and Waitain's fire on stage was epic! Alex, Lou and Dave's boy really got into them and was embracing them by head banging and doing the devil horns! definitely the coolest child ever, all kids need to be like this tbh lol! Went to bed early this night as the heat had taken it out of me plus I got to sleep in Lou's tent as she decided she was taking the kids home for the night as they lives locally plus she was bringing her husband Dave back the next day..So got an okay nights sleep and played guard dog for Lou's tent also! Woke up on Saturday and decided I was going to take a shower..Had to queue for almost an hour for a shower and pay £3 but it was SO worth it..I am a typical girl and am not the best camper and definitely couldn't leave my hair for so long without washing it so I decided to be dedicated and stand in that damn queue cos I would feel the benefits after and I really did! Saturday was my favourite day I felt good, I felt refreshed from the sleep and I got drunker than any other day too woohoo! Saw some brilliant bands as well including Testament and Machine head! Machine Head were fucking epic and was a personal highlight for me when they performed 'A thousand lies' from the Burn my eyes album, people got to vote on facebook for what tracks they wanted them to perform from said album and am SO glad that one got chosen as it's been a firm favourite of mine for years so yep I went a little bad, bounced and banged my head in true metal fashion. People diss Machine Head but for me they are amazing and have been a favourite band of mine for years. Third time I've seen them and they were as brilliant as ever! LET FREEDOM RING WITH THE SHOTGUN BLAST! indeed.. I also related to Robb Flynn's speech about how you meet certain people in life like us guys in the crowd who appreciate true metal and rock music and how we're the best people in the world, a rare breed. Our music means so much and we are so passionate about it he was right in everything he said, what a guy! Afterwards Paul and I tried out the eco shitter which was a treat tbh after spending time in festival toilets was nice to go in a loo with toilet paper and cleanliness! Just make sure you pour the cup of sawdust down the hole when your done ;) Went down to the 'Sophie tent' for a while with Lou and Dave to see the Metal DJ's who were fucking boss! Got very drunk with Paul and we shared loads of soppy moments in the middle of the tent but all worth it I love you so much babe <3 Then we stayed up til 4ish on the campsite with my buddies having a laugh and also got joined by a guy dressed as santa which was erm, odd! Saturday night was my favourite night, random encounters all round and a great atmosphere everyone was in high spirits! Sunday was a chilled day for us all, only band I went down to the stage to see was Paradise Lost, they were brilliant as usual and performed many of their new songs but mixed it up with some old. Nick Holmes dry humour was as present as ever I love that guy's fuck everything attitude he should have his own stage show he's hilarious plus an amazing singer..I love this band as a whole and I also like how the guitarists always look so happy when they play! Personal highlights were 'In this we dwell' from the new album and of course 'Just say words' Alice Cooper also played this day we saw most of his set from the bar as you can see the stage from there but we were too tired to go down and watch him, sort of regret that now but at the same time we were all shattered and needed to chill! We then said goodbye to Lou, Dave and Alex with a heavy heart but promised we'd all get together again soon for more fun times! Paul and I chilled again on the camp site and then realised we were too tired to stay up, but apparently we missed the epic wrestling battles and Tent man who was fighting in the ring with the wrester wannabes! Tent man is now a legend in his own right! Seems the entire camp site thought they were wrestlers of some kind but it did make it enjoyable as there were several matches going on every night and random people having jousting sessions dressed up in carlsberg boxes with an axe made from cans, crazy folk but very funny! Only regrets I had this day was missing Tent man and maybe going down the front for a while to see Alice Cooper but was a good day all the same.. Monday morning we got up, packed up our things etc..well we decided to leave the tent there and the chairs as they wouldn't go in the small car. Even packing up was fun, one guy got inside his tent and started walking away with it..And the number of pop up tents flying past us was unreal cos nobody could be arsed to put them away as they are really difficult to get down again! So in the end it turned out the 'wrestler guys' decided to cut holes in one and go flintstones style in it and run around as if the tent grew legs! Like I say never a dull moment..We then decided to 'set our tent free' once we'd taken our things out but it wasn't having it so it took a beating from said guys and it learned its lesson BAD TENT! Shortly after we left the camp site feeling sad bloodstock was over but also excited by the fact we'd soon be in a comfy bed and having a hot shower! I enjoyed every minute of this festival and can't wait to return next year even if I don't know many bands on the line up like this year! It was my first festival camping and I couldn't have asked for anything better tbh Would like to thank the people esp my wonderful boyfriend Paul. I love you so much babe thankyou for everything, Bloodstock was as wonderful as you said it would be I have loved our time together and it feels wrong been here without you. Dave, Lou, Tess and Alex..Have never met such a lovely family, you guys rule and I can see why Paul loves you so much you are truly brilliant people and can't wait to see you again soon :D I also can't forget our little camp site and the people around us..Jade obviously and her friends Chris, Sarah, Lee and John whom we shared many laughs with over the nights.. Would like to make a huge shout out to all the other people we chatted to in the bars, in the crowd, in the merch stands you are all wonderful. People there were just so friendly and I wish I could bring all of those people back here to hang out with. I have never been in a place where I have truly felt I belonged until last weekend, just goes to show there are people out there like myself who have once felt awkward in normal society but when we all get together in this field something special definitely does happen and its magical, I miss it already! Roll on 2013 cos I'll definitely be back :D peace out folks and if you like metal music get yourself to BOA 2013 you'll not regret it trust me. So so glad I took the plunge and went. It does show you that you need to do certain things in life to feel truly alive and this was by far the best weekend of my life. I have a full leg of insect bites, a sunburnt face and a bit of a hangover still..these things will soon fade away but the memories I have gained will last a lifetime!